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George Stratford

Goodreads Author

Born

in London, The United Kingdom

June 09, 1944

Website

http:/www.georgestratford.com/

Genre

Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Biographies & Memoirs

Influences

Ken Follett, Stephen King, John Grisham

Member Since

August 2011

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I was born in South London in 1944, just 4 days before Hitler's V1 flying bombs began falling down all over our neighbourhood. Our house was lucky and survived.

Dad was a Canadian bomber pilot with the RAF. He was killed while on his 28th mission when I was 6 weeks old. Mum was also did her bit working for two years at top-secret Bletchley Park where the German Enigma code was broken.

My first novel, IN THE LONG RUN, has a backdrop of South Africa's real life Comrades Marathon - 55 miles of torture run over massive hills, most years in big heat and humidity. This was selling really well for a first novel until my publishers went bust almost overnight, so no royalties for George.

I later re-published the title with Create Space. The book has a I was born in South London in 1944, just 4 days before Hitler's V1 flying bombs began falling down all over our neighbourhood. Our house was lucky and survived.

Dad was a Canadian bomber pilot with the RAF. He was killed while on his 28th mission when I was 6 weeks old. Mum was also did her bit working for two years at top-secret Bletchley Park where the German Enigma code was broken.

My first novel, IN THE LONG RUN, has a backdrop of South Africa's real life Comrades Marathon - 55 miles of torture run over massive hills, most years in big heat and humidity. This was selling really well for a first novel until my publishers went bust almost overnight, so no royalties for George.

I later re-published the title with Create Space. The book has a foreword written by TV broadcaster and Olympic athlete, Steve Cram. Steve, whose world record for the mile stood for over 8 years, was also guest of honour at the original launch party in March 2000. This was held at the London HQ of advertising giants Saatchi & Saatchi, where I was working at the time as a copywriter.

How the heck did I ever manage to get myself such a job in Don Draper land when only three years before I’d been a long-term unemployed bum with no educational qualifications? That's another story, one I've just finished writing in a bio called AIN'T FINISHED YET. Sure I can identify with much of the fabulous TV series Mad Men, although sadly from a personal point of view, with very little of the gratuitous sex and huge salaries involved.

BURIED PASTS, now available in Kindle format, is a tribute to my Dad. It's not by chance that the central character Mike Stafford's surname is so similar, nor that he has the same hometown in Canada. Even the fictional RAF 79 Squadron is as close as possible to real life. In fact, I pictured Stafford as being Dad throughout the writing. I liked to imagine that this was how Dad would have responded to the same difficulties and dangers that Stafford finds himself confronting.

UPDATE:
I have now completed writing my latest novel, I SPY BLETCHLEY PARK, which of course is a balancing tribute to my mother and her wartime contribution. For more details of the story behind the story, please do visit my author website.
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George. My name is Stewart Dixon son of Flt Lieutenant Walter Harry Dixon who piloted the crashed Halifax in June 44 - the surviving crew went onto to fly with your father and were killed six weeks later in July 44 over France. I’m preparing a file of fotographs and information as to my fathers war record for my 18yo son - we are interested in keeping his memory alive and recorded on various war websites ?

George Stratford Hi Stewart. I'm sorry about the delay in responding, I've only just seen your message. How may I be of help?…moreHi Stewart. I'm sorry about the delay in responding, I've only just seen your message. How may I be of help?(less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

George Stratford I've come across quite a few stories in the past that feature a completely anonymous loner assassin, and the question I've always asked myself is: If …moreI've come across quite a few stories in the past that feature a completely anonymous loner assassin, and the question I've always asked myself is: If no one has any idea whatsoever of the killer's identity or whereabouts, how the heck can that all-important initial contact ever be made? A middle man might be involved, but wouldn't that in itself be a constant threat to the assassin's security? From his point of view, even one person who could possibly identify him would be one too many.

It was fun to try and think a way around this. I'm certainly not claiming that what I've come up with in A Fine Line is the perfect answer, but I do hope it provides the platform for an entertaining story. After criss-crossing between locations in the USA and UK, then later Switzerland, the action leads ultimately to the Great Siege Tunnels of Gibraltar. When I visited these several years back, I sensed immediately that their dark recesses and claustrophobic atmosphere would make a great setting for a final showdown between two highly trained and very dangerous men. This thought remained mentally filed away for this purpose until – yes, finally - my two fictional protagonists were born and eager to do battle with each other.

So there I had my beginning, and my end pretty much. All I needed to do then was create a cast of support characters and a sequence of hopefully engaging events all leading up to the inevitable showdown. With murder and double-crossing featuring heavily along the way, you won't be surprised to know that the cast list is dramatically reduced by the time the final scene arrives.

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George Stratford’s books

Average rating: 4.35 · 589 ratings · 40 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	I Spy Bletchley Park: A Page-Turning Thriller that Asks: What if the Nazis Did Discover the Secret of Bletchley Park? 4.39 avg rating — 428 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	BURIED PASTS: Personal demons can be a killer. 4.26 avg rating — 94 ratings — published 2009 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A FINE LINE: Good versus bad is never that simple. 4.57 avg rating — 30 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In The Long Run 3.84 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 2000 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ain't Finished Yet 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	JD's Happy Adventures 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Useful facts about oakum and kindred products 1917 [Leather Bound] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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George Stratford's Blog

Radio Ga Ga - or how an advertising campaign is born

The door to my little creative haven opens just as I’m about to write down the headline of the century on my layout pad. It’s that new guy from Traffic. He plonks a brief on my desk directly in front of me.

“This one’s urgent,” he says. “It’s a sixty second radio ad.”

“Urgent eh,” I repeat, glancing briefly at the five other briefs also crowding for my attention. Funnily enough they are all headed i Read more of this blog post »

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